Since the launch of Opera 10.5 in March 2010, I've been using it as my primary browser, whether at work or at home.
Using Ubuntu at work, and a Windows netbook at home, I wanted a fast browser for my netbook and a coherent browsing experience on both operating systems. And this is where Opera 10.5 (and newer) fits perfectly.

You can replace the back and forward buttons, they still exsist with the small arrow.

Right click the tool bar, goto customize, appearance.
Goto the Buttons tab and select browser on the left.
You will see the button there. The button will be shown with text, but that text will not appear unless you have the tool bar set to display text and images.
You can drag the button to where ever you want.